diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index cd8a25f2..fa46e63b 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -102,27 +102,26 @@ if( NOT ENABLE_DEBUGGER AND ENABLE_SDL )
         message( SEND_ERROR "The SDL port can't be built without debugging support" )
 endif( NOT ENABLE_DEBUGGER AND ENABLE_SDL )
 
-# Set the version number with -DVERSION=X.X.X-uber
-IF( NOT VERSION )
-#Will need to change this over to git
-    SET( VERSION "https://github.com/visualboyadvance-m/visualboyadvance-m" )
+find_package(Git)
+if(GIT_FOUND AND EXISTS "${CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR}/.git")
+    INCLUDE(GetGitRevisionDescription)
+    EXECUTE_PROCESS(COMMAND ${GIT_EXECUTABLE} rev-parse --short HEAD OUTPUT_VARIABLE SHORT_SHA OUTPUT_STRIP_TRAILING_WHITESPACE)
 
-    #openmw does this
-    if(EXISTS ${PROJECT_SOURCE_DIR}/.git)
-        if(NOT EXISTS ${PROJECT_SOURCE_DIR}/.git/shallow)
-            find_package(Git)
-            if(GIT_FOUND)
-                include(GetGitRevisionDescription)
-                get_git_head_revision(REFSPEC COMMITHASH)
-                SET(VERSION "GIT Commit: ${COMMITHASH}")
-            else(GIT_FOUND)
-                message(WARNING "Git executable not found")
-            endif(GIT_FOUND)
-        else(NOT EXISTS ${PROJECT_SOURCE_DIR}/.git/shallow)
-            message(STATUS "Shallow Git clone detected, not attempting to retrieve version info")
-        endif(NOT EXISTS ${PROJECT_SOURCE_DIR}/.git/shallow)
-    endif(EXISTS ${PROJECT_SOURCE_DIR}/.git)
-ENDIF( NOT VERSION )
+    SET(REVISION ${SHORT_SHA} CACHE STRING "git short sha" FORCE)
+
+    # only use the plugin to tie the configure state to the sha to force rebuilds
+    # of files that depend on version.h
+    include(GetGitRevisionDescription)
+    get_git_head_revision(REFSPEC COMMITHASH)
+else()
+    message(WARNING "Git not found, cannot set version info")
+
+    SET(REVISION "unknown")
+endif()
+
+# generate version.h
+include_directories(${CMAKE_BINARY_DIR})
+configure_file("${CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR}/src/version.h.in" "${CMAKE_BINARY_DIR}/version.h" @ONLY)
 
 IF(CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE STREQUAL "Debug")
     ADD_DEFINITIONS(-DDEBUG)
@@ -212,7 +211,7 @@ INCLUDE(GNUInstallDirs)
 
 # C defines
 ADD_DEFINITIONS (-DHAVE_NETINET_IN_H -DHAVE_ARPA_INET_H -DHAVE_ZLIB_H -DFINAL_VERSION -DSDL -DUSE_OPENGL -DSYSCONF_INSTALL_DIR="${CMAKE_INSTALL_FULL_SYSCONFDIR}" -DWITH_LIRC=${WITHLIRC})
-ADD_DEFINITIONS (-DVERSION="${VERSION}" -DPKGDATADIR="${CMAKE_INSTALL_FULL_DATADIR}/vbam" -DPACKAGE=)
+ADD_DEFINITIONS (-DPKGDATADIR="${CMAKE_INSTALL_FULL_DATADIR}/vbam" -DPACKAGE=)
 
 if( ENABLE_LINK )
     # IPC linking code needs sem_timedwait which can be either in librt or pthreads
@@ -449,7 +448,6 @@ SET(HDR_MAIN
     src/AutoBuild.h
     src/System.h
     src/Util.h
-    src/version.h
     src/common/array.h
     src/common/ConfigManager.h
     src/common/dictionary.h
diff --git a/CMakeScripts/GetGitRevisionDescription.cmake b/CMakeScripts/GetGitRevisionDescription.cmake
index fade483e..8ab03bc5 100644
--- a/CMakeScripts/GetGitRevisionDescription.cmake
+++ b/CMakeScripts/GetGitRevisionDescription.cmake
@@ -18,6 +18,12 @@
 # and adjusting the output so that it tests false if there was no exact
 # matching tag.
 #
+#  git_local_changes(<var>)
+#
+# Returns either "CLEAN" or "DIRTY" with respect to uncommitted changes.
+# Uses the return code of "git diff-index --quiet HEAD --".
+# Does not regard untracked files.
+#
 # Requires CMake 2.6 or newer (uses the 'function' command)
 #
 # Original Author:
@@ -31,7 +37,7 @@
 # http://www.boost.org/LICENSE_1_0.txt)
 
 if(__get_git_revision_description)
-    return()
+	return()
 endif()
 set(__get_git_revision_description YES)
 
@@ -40,116 +46,123 @@ set(__get_git_revision_description YES)
 get_filename_component(_gitdescmoddir ${CMAKE_CURRENT_LIST_FILE} PATH)
 
 function(get_git_head_revision _refspecvar _hashvar)
-    set(GIT_PARENT_DIR "${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}")
-    set(GIT_DIR "${GIT_PARENT_DIR}/.git")
-    while(NOT EXISTS "${GIT_DIR}")	# .git dir not found, search parent directories
-        set(GIT_PREVIOUS_PARENT "${GIT_PARENT_DIR}")
-        get_filename_component(GIT_PARENT_DIR ${GIT_PARENT_DIR} PATH)
-        if(GIT_PARENT_DIR STREQUAL GIT_PREVIOUS_PARENT)
-            # We have reached the root directory, we are not in git
-            set(${_refspecvar} "GITDIR-NOTFOUND" PARENT_SCOPE)
-            set(${_hashvar} "GITDIR-NOTFOUND" PARENT_SCOPE)
-            return()
-        endif()
+	set(GIT_PARENT_DIR "${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}")
+	set(GIT_DIR "${GIT_PARENT_DIR}/.git")
+	while(NOT EXISTS "${GIT_DIR}")	# .git dir not found, search parent directories
+		set(GIT_PREVIOUS_PARENT "${GIT_PARENT_DIR}")
+		get_filename_component(GIT_PARENT_DIR ${GIT_PARENT_DIR} PATH)
+		if(GIT_PARENT_DIR STREQUAL GIT_PREVIOUS_PARENT)
+			# We have reached the root directory, we are not in git
+			set(${_refspecvar} "GITDIR-NOTFOUND" PARENT_SCOPE)
+			set(${_hashvar} "GITDIR-NOTFOUND" PARENT_SCOPE)
+			return()
+		endif()
+		set(GIT_DIR "${GIT_PARENT_DIR}/.git")
+	endwhile()
+	# check if this is a submodule
+	if(NOT IS_DIRECTORY ${GIT_DIR})
+		file(READ ${GIT_DIR} submodule)
+		string(REGEX REPLACE "gitdir: (.*)\n$" "\\1" GIT_DIR_RELATIVE ${submodule})
+		get_filename_component(SUBMODULE_DIR ${GIT_DIR} PATH)
+		get_filename_component(GIT_DIR ${SUBMODULE_DIR}/${GIT_DIR_RELATIVE} ABSOLUTE)
+	endif()
+	set(GIT_DATA "${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR}/CMakeFiles/git-data")
+	if(NOT EXISTS "${GIT_DATA}")
+		file(MAKE_DIRECTORY "${GIT_DATA}")
+	endif()
 
-        set(GIT_DIR "${GIT_PARENT_DIR}/.git")
-    endwhile()
+	if(NOT EXISTS "${GIT_DIR}/HEAD")
+		return()
+	endif()
+	set(HEAD_FILE "${GIT_DATA}/HEAD")
+	configure_file("${GIT_DIR}/HEAD" "${HEAD_FILE}" COPYONLY)
 
-    # check if this is a submodule
-    if(NOT IS_DIRECTORY ${GIT_DIR})
-        file(READ ${GIT_DIR} submodule)
-        string(REGEX REPLACE "gitdir: (.*)\n$" "\\1" GIT_DIR_RELATIVE ${submodule})
-        get_filename_component(SUBMODULE_DIR ${GIT_DIR} PATH)
-        get_filename_component(GIT_DIR ${SUBMODULE_DIR}/${GIT_DIR_RELATIVE} ABSOLUTE)
-    endif()
+	configure_file("${_gitdescmoddir}/GetGitRevisionDescription.cmake.in"
+		"${GIT_DATA}/grabRef.cmake"
+		@ONLY)
+	include("${GIT_DATA}/grabRef.cmake")
 
-    set(GIT_DATA "${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR}/CMakeFiles/git-data")
-
-    if(NOT EXISTS "${GIT_DATA}")
-        file(MAKE_DIRECTORY "${GIT_DATA}")
-    endif()
-
-    if(NOT EXISTS "${GIT_DIR}/HEAD")
-        return()
-    endif()
-
-    set(HEAD_FILE "${GIT_DATA}/HEAD")
-    configure_file("${GIT_DIR}/HEAD" "${HEAD_FILE}" COPYONLY)
-
-    configure_file("${_gitdescmoddir}/GetGitRevisionDescription.cmake.in"
-                    "${GIT_DATA}/grabRef.cmake" @ONLY)
-    include("${GIT_DATA}/grabRef.cmake")
-
-    set(${_refspecvar} "${HEAD_REF}" PARENT_SCOPE)
-    set(${_hashvar} "${HEAD_HASH}" PARENT_SCOPE)
+	set(${_refspecvar} "${HEAD_REF}" PARENT_SCOPE)
+	set(${_hashvar} "${HEAD_HASH}" PARENT_SCOPE)
 endfunction()
 
 function(git_describe _var)
-    #get_git_head_revision(refspec hash)
+	if(NOT GIT_FOUND)
+		find_package(Git QUIET)
+	endif()
+	get_git_head_revision(refspec hash)
+	if(NOT GIT_FOUND)
+		set(${_var} "GIT-NOTFOUND" PARENT_SCOPE)
+		return()
+	endif()
+	if(NOT hash)
+		set(${_var} "HEAD-HASH-NOTFOUND" PARENT_SCOPE)
+		return()
+	endif()
 
-    if(NOT GIT_FOUND)
-        set(${_var} "GIT-NOTFOUND" PARENT_SCOPE)
-        return()
-    endif()
+	# TODO sanitize
+	#if((${ARGN}" MATCHES "&&") OR
+	#	(ARGN MATCHES "||") OR
+	#	(ARGN MATCHES "\\;"))
+	#	message("Please report the following error to the project!")
+	#	message(FATAL_ERROR "Looks like someone's doing something nefarious with git_describe! Passed arguments ${ARGN}")
+	#endif()
 
-    #if(NOT hash)
-    #    set(${_var} "HEAD-HASH-NOTFOUND" PARENT_SCOPE)
-    #    return()
-    #endif()
+	#message(STATUS "Arguments to execute_process: ${ARGN}")
 
-    # TODO sanitize
-    #if((${ARGN}" MATCHES "&&") OR
-    #    (ARGN MATCHES "||") OR
-    #    (ARGN MATCHES "\\;"))
-    #    message("Please report the following error to the project!")
-    #    message(FATAL_ERROR "Looks like someone's doing something nefarious with git_describe! Passed arguments ${ARGN}")
-    #endif()
+	execute_process(COMMAND
+		"${GIT_EXECUTABLE}"
+		describe
+		${hash}
+		${ARGN}
+		WORKING_DIRECTORY
+		"${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}"
+		RESULT_VARIABLE
+		res
+		OUTPUT_VARIABLE
+		out
+		ERROR_QUIET
+		OUTPUT_STRIP_TRAILING_WHITESPACE)
+	if(NOT res EQUAL 0)
+		set(out "${out}-${res}-NOTFOUND")
+	endif()
 
-    #message(STATUS "Arguments to execute_process: ${ARGN}")
-
-    execute_process(COMMAND
-                    "${GIT_EXECUTABLE}"
-                    describe
-                    #${hash}
-                    ${ARGN}
-                    WORKING_DIRECTORY
-                    "${CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR}"
-                    RESULT_VARIABLE
-                    res
-                    OUTPUT_VARIABLE
-                    out
-                    OUTPUT_STRIP_TRAILING_WHITESPACE)
-
-    if(NOT res EQUAL 0)
-        set(out "${out}-${res}-NOTFOUND")
-    endif()
-
-    set(${_var} "${out}" PARENT_SCOPE)
+	set(${_var} "${out}" PARENT_SCOPE)
 endfunction()
 
-function(get_git_tag_revision _var)
-    if(NOT GIT_FOUND)
-        set(${_var} "GIT-NOTFOUND" PARENT_SCOPE)
-        return()
-    endif()
-
-    execute_process(COMMAND
-                    "${GIT_EXECUTABLE}"
-                    rev-list
-                    ${ARGN}
-                    WORKING_DIRECTORY
-                    "${CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR}"
-                    RESULT_VARIABLE
-                    res
-                    OUTPUT_VARIABLE
-                    out
-                    OUTPUT_STRIP_TRAILING_WHITESPACE)
-    if(NOT res EQUAL 0)
-        set(out "${out}-${res}-NOTFOUND")
-    endif()
-
-    set(${_var} "${out}" PARENT_SCOPE)
+function(git_get_exact_tag _var)
+	git_describe(out --exact-match ${ARGN})
+	set(${_var} "${out}" PARENT_SCOPE)
 endfunction()
 
+function(git_local_changes _var)
+	if(NOT GIT_FOUND)
+		find_package(Git QUIET)
+	endif()
+	get_git_head_revision(refspec hash)
+	if(NOT GIT_FOUND)
+		set(${_var} "GIT-NOTFOUND" PARENT_SCOPE)
+		return()
+	endif()
+	if(NOT hash)
+		set(${_var} "HEAD-HASH-NOTFOUND" PARENT_SCOPE)
+		return()
+	endif()
 
-
+	execute_process(COMMAND
+		"${GIT_EXECUTABLE}"
+		diff-index --quiet HEAD --
+		WORKING_DIRECTORY
+		"${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}"
+		RESULT_VARIABLE
+		res
+		OUTPUT_VARIABLE
+		out
+		ERROR_QUIET
+		OUTPUT_STRIP_TRAILING_WHITESPACE)
+	if(res EQUAL 0)
+		set(${_var} "CLEAN" PARENT_SCOPE)
+	else()
+		set(${_var} "DIRTY" PARENT_SCOPE)
+	endif()
+endfunction()
diff --git a/CMakeScripts/GetGitRevisionDescription.cmake.in b/CMakeScripts/GetGitRevisionDescription.cmake.in
index 888ce13a..6d8b708e 100644
--- a/CMakeScripts/GetGitRevisionDescription.cmake.in
+++ b/CMakeScripts/GetGitRevisionDescription.cmake.in
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-# 
+#
 # Internal file for GetGitRevisionDescription.cmake
 #
 # Requires CMake 2.6 or newer (uses the 'function' command)
@@ -23,9 +23,12 @@ if(HEAD_CONTENTS MATCHES "ref")
 	string(REPLACE "ref: " "" HEAD_REF "${HEAD_CONTENTS}")
 	if(EXISTS "@GIT_DIR@/${HEAD_REF}")
 		configure_file("@GIT_DIR@/${HEAD_REF}" "@GIT_DATA@/head-ref" COPYONLY)
-	elseif(EXISTS "@GIT_DIR@/logs/${HEAD_REF}")
-		configure_file("@GIT_DIR@/logs/${HEAD_REF}" "@GIT_DATA@/head-ref" COPYONLY)
-		set(HEAD_HASH "${HEAD_REF}")
+	else()
+		configure_file("@GIT_DIR@/packed-refs" "@GIT_DATA@/packed-refs" COPYONLY)
+		file(READ "@GIT_DATA@/packed-refs" PACKED_REFS)
+		if(${PACKED_REFS} MATCHES "([0-9a-z]*) ${HEAD_REF}")
+			set(HEAD_HASH "${CMAKE_MATCH_1}")
+		endif()
 	endif()
 else()
 	# detached HEAD
diff --git a/src/common/ConfigManager.cpp b/src/common/ConfigManager.cpp
index 5cfc73b9..a2ed8126 100644
--- a/src/common/ConfigManager.cpp
+++ b/src/common/ConfigManager.cpp
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ extern "C" {
 #include <cmath>
 
 #include "../AutoBuild.h"
-#include "../version.h"
+#include "version.h"
 
 #include "../common/Patch.h"
 #include "../common/ConfigManager.h"
diff --git a/src/sdl/SDL.cpp b/src/sdl/SDL.cpp
index 55902a16..7b530f91 100644
--- a/src/sdl/SDL.cpp
+++ b/src/sdl/SDL.cpp
@@ -42,7 +42,7 @@
 #include <time.h>
 
 #include "../AutoBuild.h"
-#include "../version.h"
+#include "version.h"
 
 #include "SDL.h"
 
@@ -1640,11 +1640,7 @@ void handleRewinds()
 
 int main(int argc, char** argv)
 {
-#ifndef FINAL_BUILD
-    fprintf(stdout, "VBA-M version %s [SDL]\n", "Git:");
-#else
-    fprintf(stdout, "VBA-M version %s [SDL]");
-#endif
+    fprintf(stdout, "%s\n", VBA_NAME_AND_SUBVERSION);
 
     home = argv[0];
     SetHome(home);
diff --git a/src/version.h b/src/version.h
deleted file mode 100644
index c7882428..00000000
--- a/src/version.h
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,62 +0,0 @@
-// -*- C++ -*-
-// VisualBoyAdvance - Nintendo Gameboy/GameboyAdvance (TM) emulator.
-// Copyright (C) 1999-2003 Forgotten
-// Copyright (C) 2004 Forgotten and the VBA development team
-
-// This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
-// it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
-// the Free Software Foundation; either version 2, or(at your option)
-// any later version.
-//
-// This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
-// but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
-// MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
-// GNU General Public License for more details.
-//
-// You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
-// along with this program; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation,
-// Inc., 51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA  02110-1301, USA.
-
-#define VBA_NAME "VisualBoyAdvance-M"
-
-#ifdef _WIN32
-#ifndef FINAL_BUILD
-#define SVN_REV_STR "Git:"
-#endif
-#else
-#ifdef SVN_REV
-#define SVN_REV_STR SVN_REV
-#else
-#define SVN_REV_STR ""
-#endif
-#endif
-
-#define VBA_FEATURE_STRING ""
-
-#ifdef DEBUG
-#define VBA_SUBVERSION_STRING " debug"
-#elif defined(PUBLIC_RELEASE)
-#define VBA_SUBVERSION_STRING ""
-#else
-#define VBA_SUBVERSION_STRING " (SVN" SVN_REV_STR ")"
-#endif
-
-#if defined(_MSC_VER)
-#define VBA_COMPILER ""
-#define VBA_COMPILER_DETAIL " msvc " _Py_STRINGIZE(_MSC_VER)
-#define _Py_STRINGIZE(X) _Py_STRINGIZE1((X))
-#define _Py_STRINGIZE1(X) _Py_STRINGIZE2##X
-#define _Py_STRINGIZE2(X) #X
-// re:
-// http://72.14.203.104/search?q=cache:HG-okth5NGkJ:mail.python.org/pipermail/python-checkins/2002-November/030704.html+_msc_ver+compiler+version+string&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=5
-#else
-// TODO: make for others compilers
-#define VBA_COMPILER ""
-#define VBA_COMPILER_DETAIL ""
-#endif
-
-#define VBA_VERSION_STRING                                                                         \
-        " "                                                                                        \
-        "2.0.0" VBA_SUBVERSION_STRING VBA_FEATURE_STRING VBA_COMPILER
-#define VBA_NAME_AND_VERSION " " VBA_NAME VBA_VERSION_STRING
-#define VBA_NAME_AND_SUBVERSION " " VBA_NAME VBA_SUBVERSION_STRING
diff --git a/src/version.h.in b/src/version.h.in
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..b6b95287
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/version.h.in
@@ -0,0 +1,45 @@
+// -*- C++ -*-
+// VisualBoyAdvance - Nintendo Gameboy/GameboyAdvance (TM) emulator.
+// Copyright (C) 1999-2003 Forgotten
+// Copyright (C) 2004 Forgotten and the VBA development team
+
+// This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
+// it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
+// the Free Software Foundation; either version 2, or(at your option)
+// any later version.
+//
+// This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+// but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+// MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+// GNU General Public License for more details.
+//
+// You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
+// along with this program; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation,
+// Inc., 51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA  02110-1301, USA.
+
+#define VBA_NAME "VisualBoyAdvance-M"
+#define VBA_CURRENT_VERSION "2.0.0"
+
+#define VBA_FEATURE_STRING ""
+
+#define _STRINGIFY(N) #N
+
+#if defined(PUBLIC_RELEASE)
+    #define VBA_SUBVERSION_STRING ""
+#else
+    #define VBA_SUBVERSION_STRING "-" "@REVISION@"
+#endif
+
+#if defined(_MSC_VER)
+    #define VBA_COMPILER "msvc"
+    #define VBA_COMPILER_DETAIL _STRINGIFY(_MSC_VER)
+#else
+    #define VBA_COMPILER ""
+    #define VBA_COMPILER_DETAIL ""
+#endif
+
+#define VBA_VERSION_STRING      VBA_CURRENT_VERSION VBA_SUBVERSION_STRING VBA_FEATURE_STRING VBA_COMPILER
+#define VBA_NAME_AND_VERSION    VBA_NAME " " VBA_VERSION_STRING
+#define VBA_NAME_AND_SUBVERSION VBA_NAME_AND_VERSION VBA_SUBVERSION_STRING
+
+#define VERSION VBA_CURRENT_VERSION VBA_SUBVERSION_STRING
diff --git a/src/wx/cmdevents.cpp b/src/wx/cmdevents.cpp
index de9f6771..26f639d3 100644
--- a/src/wx/cmdevents.cpp
+++ b/src/wx/cmdevents.cpp
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ extern "C" {
 #define CODEC_ID_NONE AV_CODEC_ID_NONE
 #endif
 #endif
-#include "../../version.h"
+#include "version.h"
 #include "../common/ConfigManager.h"
 #include "../gb/gbPrinter.h"
 #include "../gba/agbprint.h"
diff --git a/src/wx/panel.cpp b/src/wx/panel.cpp
index c469863d..a1168275 100644
--- a/src/wx/panel.cpp
+++ b/src/wx/panel.cpp
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 #include <wx/dcbuffer.h>
 #include <SDL_joystick.h>
 
-#include "../../version.h"
+#include "version.h"
 #include "../common/ConfigManager.h"
 #include "../common/Patch.h"
 #include "../gb/gbPrinter.h"